How to drop body fat percentage???
 

I really would like to know the trick to this. Ideally I would like to lose 15 more lbs..... I am 5'6 and currently 155. I think 140 is a good weight for me as I've been there before. But rather than that I'd like to drop my body fat percentage. I do have a scale at home that measures it, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. It usually ranges between 23.5-24.5%. I'd love to get to 18 or 19%.

Does anyone have any suggestions????:confused:

update....so I was googling body fat percentage...and according to the measurements they have you take to determine body fat (waist, hips, calf, waist) it says I'm at 20.5% So if that is the case then I guess I'd like to be at 15% body fat. I don't know how accurate this formula is either though

Hi Ruthie, there are plenty of folks on here with a lot more experience than me, but I can tell you what I found to work. I used a combination of good diet (a lot of natural, nonprocessed foods, and a healthy calorie deficit), cardio, and strength training. I have a similar scale to you...again, don't know how accurate it is in absolute terms, but I was at about 26, 27% when I started, and now it consistently shows 18%.

The greater percentage of your body that is muscle, the less is fat. Build your muscles and not only will you have a lower percentage of body fat, your metabolism will be churning along at a higher rate.

Some folks say to skip the cardio in favor of serious lifting. You have to do what is right for you. Cardio burns calories, no doubt about it, and interval training has a ton of benefits for your system. Personally, I believe that cardio is really important, having had a couple ER visits due to a spontaneously spiking heart rate, so I do what I can to be good to my heart.

**Update...from what I've read, your scale is probably more accurate than measuring for body fat, calipers would be more accurate as well, and hydrostatic weighing is the most accurate available to most folks.

Can someone recommend a scale that calculates body fat percentage? I looked at reviews on Amazon and got the impression they were all a waste of money.

I'd recommend the Hydrostatic body fat test, it's the most accurate.
I did it last July and I compared those numbers with various online calculators and found the online calcs were way off.

I'm re-testing in about 3 1/2 weeks and I'm trying to lose the 5lbs which has not been easy.
I've been trying to cut back on carbs and not eat past 7pm, but I cannot get to my "target" weight... I also have three 5k runs planned before my re-test, so hopefully that will help with the weight loss.

When bodybuilders want to cut fat before a competition they increase their cardio, ingest simple carbs only immediately following a workout and of course restrict their calories to acheive a consistent deficit.